Angel investor Jason Calacanis talks high stakes poker, how to make intelligent investing decisions, how systems enable or forbid, and demystifies the culture of Silicon Valley. -- Want even more? Members get early access, hand-edited transcripts, member-only episodes, and so much more. Learn more here: https://fs.blog/membership/   Every Sunday our Brain Food newsletter shares timeless insights and ideas that you can use at work and home. Add it to your inbox: https://fs.blog/newsletter/   Follow Shane on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/ShaneAParrish

#81 Jason Calacanis: Intelligent Risk

Master the best of what other people have already figured out so you can use their lessons in your life to create an unstoppable advantage. 

Shane Parrish is an entrepreneur and sought-after speaker. His newsletter (https://fs.blog/podcast) offers timeless insights you can use to change your life.  

In The Knowledge Project, Shane interviews people at the top of their game. Every episode is packed with hard-earned lessons that you can use in your life. Tune in to create an unstoppable advantage. 

Sit down and learn from the best. Previous guests include Reid Hoffman, Esther Perel, Daniel Kahneman, Tobi Lutke, Marshall Goldsmith, Kunal Shah, Ander Huberman, David Sinclair, Ret. General Stanley McChrystal, Marc Andreessen, Patrick Collison, Robert Cialdini, Walter Isaacson, Chris Bosh, Kat Cole, Adam Grant, Angela Duckworth, Seth Godin, Matt Mullenweg, Lisa Feldman Barrett, Maria Konnikova, Bill Ackman, Annie Duke, Derek Sivers, Jim Collins, Naval Ravikant, and many others. They reveal hard-earned lessons on leadership, decision-making, hiring and firing, productivity, habits, and more. 

New episodes are released every second Tuesday. 

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What if reaching the next level of success wasn't determined by another skill, degree, or course but by something that changed on the inside?  That's what Dr. Jim Loehr believes, and in this episode, he reveals everything he knows about mental toughness and winning the mind game. Shane and Loehr discuss the radical importance of the stories you tell yourself—including how they can damage your kids—and how to change the negative stories you believe. Loehr also shares the best reflection questions to ask yourself to reveal personal blindspots, the importance of rituals for calming anxiety and performing under pressure, and how the best in the world use their recovery time effectively.  Dr. Jim Loehr is a world-renowned performance psychologist and author of 16 books. From his more than 30 years of experience and applied research, Dr. Loehr believes the single most important factor in successful achievement, personal fulfillment, and life satisfaction is the strength of one’s character. Dr. Loehr possesses a masters and doctorate in psychology and is a full member of the American Psychological Association. Watch the episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/theknowledgeproject/videos Newsletter - I share timeless insights and ideas you can use at work and home. Join over 600k others every Sunday and subscribe to Brain Food. Try it: https://fs.blog/newsletter/ My Book! Clear Thinking: Turning Ordinary Moments into Extraordinary Results is out now - https://fs.blog/clear/  Follow me: https://beacons.ai/shaneparrish Join our membership: https://fs.blog/membership/ Sponsor: Protekt: Simple solutions to support healthy routines. Enter the code "Knowledge" at checkout to receive 30% off your order. https://protekt.com/knowledge   (00:00) Intro (03:20) Parenting and storytelling (06:15) How to determine whether or not the stories are limiting or enabling you (08:41) What the stories world-class performers tell themselves (15:02) How to change the stories you tell yourself (23:26) Questions to journal about (26:16) Private voices vs. public voices (and how they impact your kids) (31:32) How to help your friends change their stories (37:30) How to better come alongside your kids to prevent destructive behavior (44:48) - (45:06) What Loehr knows about high performers that others miss (53:12) On time and energy (01:06:26) Conquering the "between point" ritual (01:11:50) On rituals vs. habits (01:15:54) How to increase your mental toughness (01:23:51) On success    

#193: Dr. Jim Loehr: Change the Stories You Tell Yourself

Working in a business and working on a business are two different things. Without the former, nothing gets done; without the latter, the wrong things get done. David Segal has a unique way of managing that tension, and this episode, he reveals all his business operating secrets and explains how he failed along the way.  Shane and Segal discuss what entrepreneurship really is, where motivation comes from, and what Segal learned building a $200 million tea business. Shane and David also dive deep into the dark side of success and the radical depression that can strike when you get a big payday, life and business lessons they learned from Warren Buffett, and the value of time management.  David Segal is the co-founder of Firebelly Tea. He’s also best known as “the David” of DAVIDsTEA. During his time at DAVIDsTEA, Segal grew the company from a single store to a $200 million retail giant. Segal left DAVIDsTEA in 2016 and started Mad Radish—a quick service restaurant concept. Mad Radish is all about providing healthy, gourmet fast foods. In 2021, Segal started Firebelly tea to create exceptional loose leaf teas tailored to modern living. Listeners of The Knowledge Project can receive a special 15 percent discount on Firebelly Tea products by heading to www.firebellytea.com and entering the code Shane15 at checkout. Watch the episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/theknowledgeproject/videos Newsletter - I share timeless insights and ideas you can use at work and home. Join over 600k others every Sunday and subscribe to Brain Food. Try it: https://fs.blog/newsletter/ My Book! Clear Thinking: Turning Ordinary Moments into Extraordinary Results is out now - https://fs.blog/clear/  Follow me: https://beacons.ai/shaneparrish Join our membership: https://fs.blog/membership/ Sponsor: Shopify: Making commerce better for everyone. https://www.shopify.com/shane   (00:00) Intro (04:59) What entrepreneurship really is (07:10) How to manage your psychology (10:40) Yearly planning, daily action (15:50) Avoiding "ivory-tower syndrome" (18:30) Segal's childhood and background (25:15) The history of DAVIDsTEA and Firebelly (36:40) The evolution of tea and business over the last twenty years (42:30) On failures (49:00) Dealing with depression (52:30) Lessons about money (56:55) Business and life lessons from Warren Buffett (1:00:00) On time management (1:04:50) What's missing in Segal's life (1:08:39) On success    

#192 David Segal: Yearly Planning, Daily Action

Shane Parrish sits down with the renowned biochemist Dr. Rhonda Patrick to explore the intricate world of nutrition and health. Dr. Patrick provides a deep dive into the role micronutrients play in our daily health, detailing how deficiencies and insufficiencies in vitamins, minerals, fatty acids, and amino acids can lead to serious health issues over time. Shane and Dr. Patrick also discuss the science behind deliberate heat exposure. She outlines the optimal sauna conditions—temperature, duration, and frequency—necessary to achieve these health benefits and explains the physiological mechanisms at play.   Rhonda Patrick has a Ph.D. in biomedical science and a Bachelor of Science degree in biochemistry/chemistry from the University of California, San Diego. She has done extensive research on aging, cancer, and nutrition.    (00:00) Intro (04:40) A philosophy for nutrition (15:36) Micronutrients through supplements vs. food (25:43) Wild-caught vs. farm-raised fish (28:44) Organic vs. non-organic vegetables (36:14) On macronutrients (40:20) How protein levels differ in different foods (45:27) The best morning smoothie recipe (54:48) Dr. Patrick grades Shane's "GOAT" smoothie recipe (59:14) Grass-fed vs. non-grass fed (01:04:40) On vitamin D (Is sunscreen killing us more than the sun?) (01:19:48) Deliberate heat and cold exposure (01:44:27) Top three behavioral and diet interventions for life and health improvements  Watch the episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/theknowledgeproject/videos Newsletter - I share timeless insights and ideas you can use at work and home. Join over 600k others every Sunday and subscribe to Brain Food. Try it: https://fs.blog/newsletter/ My Book! Clear Thinking: Turning Ordinary Moments into Extraordinary Results is out now - https://fs.blog/clear/  Follow me: https://beacons.ai/shaneparrish Join our membership: https://fs.blog/membership/ Sponsors: Eight Sleep: Sleep to power a whole new you. https://www.eightsleep.com/farnamstreet Shopify: Making commerce better for everyone. https://www.shopify.com/shane

#191 Dr. Rhonda Patrick: Diet Essentials For Healthy Living

Throughout his tenure, Brad Jacobs has built multiple billion-dollar companies. While there is no "playbook" for growing a business, he focuses on a few factors above all else in every company he operates, and in this conversation, he reveals them all.  Shane and Jacobs discuss how to read anyone during an interview through a series of intentional questions, the exciting role of AI and technology in the future of business, and where money-making ideas hide in companies. Jacobs also shares how his training in math and music made him a better business operator, the one thing he focuses on to grow his businesses, how to spot big trends before everyone else, and the only thing a company should focus on for success.  Brad Jacobs has started five companies from scratch and led each to become a billion-dollar or multibillion-dollar enterprise. These include three publicly traded companies: XPO Logistics, where he serves as Chairman and CEO, United Rentals, and United Waste Systems. Before starting XPO in 2011, Jacobs founded United Rentals in 1997 and led the company as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. In 1989, he founded United Waste Systems.   (00:00) Intro (04:44) The future of AI (07:21) How to think rationally (08:48) The major trend (10:57) The research process (13:29) On asking better questions (19:35) On rearranging your brain (22:23) On music, math, simplicity, and business (32:26) Leverage, debt, and optionality (35:11) What it takes to take contrarian bets (40:45) Confidence and parents (50:21) Why negative-only feedback is detrimental for employees (56:14) Money lessons (58:13) A deep dive on M&A; (Jacobs' secret sauce to growing his companies) (01:07:51) Questions to immediately get to know anyone (01:11:14) On boards and board meetings (01:16:57) On decision-making (01:23:37) The role of capital markets (01:25:41) The type of person you don't want to hire (01:31:16) The best capital allocators (01:33:53) Biggest lesson Jacobs learned from the past year (01:37:20) On success    Watch the episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/theknowledgeproject/videos Newsletter - I share timeless insights and ideas you can use at work and home. Join over 600k others every Sunday and subscribe to Brain Food. Try it: https://fs.blog/newsletter/ My Book! Clear Thinking: Turning Ordinary Moments into Extraordinary Results is out now - https://fs.blog/clear/  Follow me: https://beacons.ai/shaneparrish Join our membership: https://fs.blog/membership/ Sponsors: Eight Sleep: Sleep to power a whole new you. https://www.eightsleep.com/farnamstreet Shopify: Making commerce better for everyone. https://www.shopify.com/shane 

#190 Brad Jacobs: Building a Business Empire

Most families who obtain immense wealth squander it by the third generation. But Chris Davis comes from a family whose grandfather and father all became independently wealthy of each other, and Davis has done the same. How does that keep happening? In this conversation, we find out.  Shane and Chris discuss life and investment lessons he learned from his father and grandfather, why writing is more important to clarify one's thinking no matter who's reading it, and the surprising benefit of reading physical newspapers and wearing ties to work. Davis also shares his value-investing philosophy, what he learned from working with and meeting Charlie Munger, and what parents can do to raise kids who aren't entitled. Davis talks about his alcohol drink tracker and why it's important to him, why he never puts himself in situations where envy can grow, and the insights from Warren Buffett's key letter about why investment managers underperform.  Chris Davis is on the board of Berkshire Hathaway and The Coca-Cola Company. Davis is Chairman of Davis Selected Advisers-NY, Inc., an independent investment management firm founded in 1969. Davis joined Davis Selected Advisers-NY, Inc. in 1989 as a financial analyst, and in 1995, he became a portfolio manager of the firm’s flagship funds. Watch the episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/theknowledgeproject/videos Newsletter - I share timeless insights and ideas you can use at work and home. Join over 600k others every Sunday and subscribe to Brain Food. Try it: https://fs.blog/newsletter/ My Book! Clear Thinking: Turning Ordinary Moments into Extraordinary Results is out now - https://fs.blog/clear/  Follow me: https://beacons.ai/shaneparrish Join our membership: https://fs.blog/membership/ Sponsors: Eight Sleep: Sleep to power a whole new you. https://www.eightsleep.com/farnamstreet   (00:00) Intro (03:20) Life lessons Davis learned from his grandfather and father (26:24) The importance of writing things no one reads (36:55) Davis' experiences through financial crises (52:31) Why Davis loves managing a mutual fund (55:49) Why Berkshire Hathaway operates with margin (01:01:05) What is risk? (01:04:02) On low interest rates and their future impact (01:14:46) The mismatched timelines between CEOs, companies, investors, and policy (01:22:19) How Davis and Munger met (01:30:20) Lessons learned from Munger (01:41:29) Why avoiding weaknesses is the ultimate recipe for success (01:55:46) How to raise non-entitled kids and avoid lifestyle creep (01:16:10) On happiness (02:27:00) Good vs. bad board meetings (02:31:34) Three generations of wealth (02:37:15) On success

#81 Jason Calacanis: Intelligent Risk

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